Latino Daily News

Angry Birds Rio the Game That Turned iPods , iPhones and iPads into Gaming Consoles

Not too long ago, iPods were just glorified walkmans, and the smallest gaming console was a plastic brick with a monochrome 2x2 screen, known as GameBoy.

Today, iPods not only play music, but have become the leading way to play music, to listen to music and music is just a small fraction of what iPods are capable.

Apple reinvented the musical experience, and moved on to reinvent the telephone experience, and then the internet surfing experience, with great success; now, the computing giant is delving into the gaming world, partnering with world renowned developers to offer significant video gaming experiences via the Apple App Store.

Every gaming console has a mascot. Nintendo has Mario, Sega has Sonic the Hedgehog and the X-box was pretty much created to play Halo.

One only needs to spend two minutes in the App Store to realize, Angry Birds is to I-gadgets what Super Mario is to Nintendo.

Rovio Mobile’s newest creation, Angry Birds Rio, quickly became the number one paid App in less than 24 hours, shattering the misconception that publishers cannot use Apple’s platform as a vehicle to create a superstar launch.

“The quick ascension of Angry Birds Rio shows that mobile devices are just as capable of building strong brands and franchises as consoles,” said Brad Hilderbrand who is the PR manager at Sourcebits. “Just as Mario or Master Chief are considered companions to their respective consoles, Angry Birds is quickly becoming the mascot of mobile devices.”

Piotr Babieno, from iFun4all, agrees. “The popular belief is that you’ll have a much higher possibility of success on consoles, but I can’t think of any console games reaching the massive amount of popular culture exposure that iOS games, such as Angry Birds, achieved on mobile devices. In this case, Rovio opened a completely new door for the entire games industry.”

Rovio partnered earlier this year with 20th Century Fox, to create a new Angry Birds that mirrored the studio’s next animated movie, Rio, which revolves around a rare species of macaw that winds up in Rio de Janeiro to meet Jewel. The movie is set to open on April 15th.

The team even put together an Angry Birds in Rio’s Super Bowl commercial, where interested gamers slowed down the footage to locate a code that, when redeemed, gave them access to new levels in the game.

The game not only became the number one paid App in less than 24 hours, but also has gotten 5 star reviews for over 90% of reviewers.

“A few years ago, the thing you would talk to your friends about was the latest episode of a popular TV show,” said Babieno. “Now, people are talking to their friends about what high scores they were able to get. From a marketing perspective, this IP is no longer just a game. It is a part of the collective consciousness.”